Venice

After several years of making prints with local subject matter, a visit to Venice provided a refreshing contrast. The favourable weather and quality of the October light helped me to produce some satisfying photographic images. Some were taken specifically for this project (Murano Gothic) and others were happened upon through walking and canal tours. The second important decision was to produce some prints on a much smaller scale than I had done for some time.

Murano Gothic

Murano Gothic is the first of a Venetian triptych. These beautiful windows were first noticed in 2005 and then revisited more recently with a serious camera and telephoto lens – but the old sagging blinds had been tidied away, so the original photograph was used. Colour has been added through the addition of torn paper to the photostencils to create an effect somewhat like an image taken from an old manuscript.

Sea Door

Sea Door is the second part of the Venetian triptych, based on a photograph taken across the Grand Canal, close to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. The print features a bricked-in canal-level entrance to a grand palazzo. The low angled effect of the late afternoon sun enhances the ‘noble-rot’ of the stonework and woodwork. Technically the print is an amalgam of photographic and autographic mark making: producing contrasts of controlled and free colour areas.

Molo Gotico

Molo Gotico (Gothic Jetty) is the third part of the triptych. The original source material was gathered on a Sunday Morning boat trip through the back canals. The wooden ‘former’ holding the Gothic arch in place is the focus of the design but the revealed brickwork and distressed plaster and stonework give that feeling of ‘noble-rot’ that John Piper so admired. The print is made through posterised photographic tones printed over colours that are hand painted and collaged onto screen and transparent positive.

Sea Door ll

‘Sea Door II’ is a reworking of the second part of a Venetian triptych. Initially, this series was created to explore smaller print formats. The new version has an addition of two sidebars that create the illusion of textural continuity with the buildings surrounding the gate.